Government sticks to its guns, says no recession yet

The goverment is sticking to its forecast of slight economic growth this year and disputes claims made by several analysts that the country is already in recession.

Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin said today that he expects the country to register 3.5 per cent economic growth which conflicts with projections from Citigroup and the Ratings Agency of Malaysia that says Malaysia will enter recession in the first half of the year.

“From the government’s standpoint, we are not in a technical recession,” says Muyhiddin who is the Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

“Our figures still showed growth. The public should accept that the government’s announcements are based on evidence. There are so many gurus and so many articles out there now. But the picture has to become very clear.”

He added however that the government will continue to be guarded and that the picture would become clearer when the first quarter figures of this year are released.

He also said that the government will do whatever it takes to deal with the slowdown, citing as an example the RM7 billion economic stimulus package.